The Child Thief by Brom A Novel

The acclaimed artist Brom brilliantly displays his multiple extraordinary talents in The Child Thief—a spellbinding re-imagining of the beloved Peter Pan story that carries readers through the perilous mist separating our world from the realm of Faerie. As Gregory Maguire did with his New York Times bestselling Wicked novels, Brom takes a classic children’s tale and turns it inside-out, painting a Neverland that, like Maguire’s Oz, is darker, richer, more complex than innocent world J.M. Barrie originally conceived. An ingeniously executed literary feat, illustrated with Brom’s sumptuous artwork, The Child Thief is contemporary fantasy at its finest—casting Peter Pan, the Lost Boys, even Captain Hook and his crew in a breathtaking new light.

Brom first won acclaim illustrating for TSR's Dark Sun role-playing world. He has since lent his distinctive vision to all facets of the creative industries, from novels and games, to comics and film, working on such notable titles as World of Warcraft, Magic the Gathering, Diablo, Doom, Batman, Galaxy Quest, and Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow. He is the author of two award-winning illustrated horror novels, The Plucker and The Devil's Rose. Brom is currently kept in a dank cellar somewhere just outside of Seattle.

Examiner

The story ends with a nice “Ode to Peter Pan” by Brom, telling the reader how he crafted the story, where he found his inspiration, and the background of some of the Britannica myths that he implements in the story.

SF Site

Far from being a fairy tale, this
is more of an urban street story at the beginning and is certainly not meant for children due to the serious
subject matter of drugs, prostitution and gangland in modern day USA.

Gather Books

Open Book Society

Jennifer Kay posted this on brooklyneagle.com today: The Child Thief follows two illustrated horror novels by Brom, an artist whose gothic images have filled comics, films and role-playing video games such as World of Warcraft.

Geeks of Doom

The prologue to artist Brom‘s novel The Child Thief begins with a girl who is afraid of an abusive stepfather, which leads into the appearance of Peter Pan, who has come to “save” this child from the certain doom she faced at the hands of the malevolent step-parent.

The Trades

Peter carefully wins Nick over ("for Peter's smile is a most contagious thing") and after a skirmish with the drug pushers and a break-in at a sporting goods store, the two of them set out for Peter's fort, hidden away in the mists of Avalon.